Lose Control
by BecauseWafflesCanFly
Summary: They want the power of the jinchurikis but none are willing to give it up until Hidan and Kakuzu encounter the host of the 2 tails.(OC)Ichi is terrified of them but has a strong will to live, she knows the only way to survive will be to cooperate, but how will the Akatsuki handle her? She has the power they want and the ability to control it that they need. Will she lose control?
1. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 1:  
The Beginning of the end

"What's it like to be on the run for 6 years?" The man with silver hair and violet eyes cooed. His partner seemed to be annoyed already."What's the matter little kitty? Cat got your tongue?" He asked and chuckled at his own puns. The taller man had a mask mostly covering his face and a head band from Takigakure* with a line through the symbol and he did not look amused.

"Enough Hidan, just grab the jinchuriki already." He said with a harsh tone.

The men in black cloaks stepped closer to Ichi, she backed up as far as she could until she hit the wall of the restaurant. There was no where she could run, she was cornered between the wall and the counter. She was frantically trying to come up with a way to escape without fighting, she hated using the power she had. She curled into a ball on the floor and tried to calm herself down- if she lost control that would be the end of her for sure. "What are you doing?" The man called Hidan asked, looking extremely confused by the girls actions.

"I guess she's not going to fight like the others do." The other man said and took another step towards her and started to lean down to pick her up.

Ichi sat up and looked the man in the eyes. "Please don't hurt me." She pleaded. He jerked back, surprised by her sudden movement. "If you just come with us everything will be over soon enough." He said.

She nodded her head and stood up slowly, she was on the brink of tears because her nightmares were coming true. She fled from Kumogakure* 6 years ago just to avoid being used as a weapon or being killed- but here she is now, pleading for her life from two of the men who just want to use what's inside of her. What would her parents think of the coward she has become?

The taller man placed his hand on her back and guided her out of the restaurant without another word. She kept her head down, letting her white hair cover her face, almost as if she was trying to hide. She couldn t bare to think about what would become of her or the only friend she's ever had- the Matatabi* sealed within her. They walked silently for a while before Hidan finally couldn't take it. "Why didn't you even try to fight?"

Ichi ducked her head down and didn't say anything. She could fight, and she could fight very well. She was forced into rigorous training as soon as she was old enough to walk and talk, they wanted to turn her into a fighting machine. She has better control over the tailed beast sealed within her than pretty much any of the other jinchurikis do. She trained for years on just controlling the Matatabi and harnessing it s power - but she never asked for any of this.

"Well?" He persisted. Tilting his head back and looking up to the sky as he waited for her answer.

She hesitated again, trying to come up with a good enough answer for him. "I... I guess because cooperating is easier than fighting." She said quietly. "I know I could probably take one of you on no problem, but both of you showing up someplace like that put me in a pretty tough spot." She said and hoped that was good enough and he wouldn't push her farther.

"But you still could have maybe thrown at least a punch or something, that was boring. I was looking forward to getting to see what you could do." He said with a chuckle.

"At least we can get back to doing other things now instead of wasting time looking for her anymore." The other man said.

"Oh come on Kakuzu, you've gotten to do everything you wanted to do and we still have a jinchuriki to show for our efforts." Hidan said with a smirk.

Ichi sighed softly as they walked, she needed to escape if she wanted to survive, but there was no way out of this without help. She had heard the rumors about this group, she knew she was a target. Fleeing from her home and *changing her name apparently wasn't enough. She wished she could go back to 6 years ago and stop her parents from leaving, stop them from dying. She hated being alone in this harsh world.

She gently pulled the origami flower out of her hair and her bangs fell in her face. She held the paper in her hand and thought back to what her mother used to call her... "My little flower" she would say as she brushed Ichi's hair after a long day of training. She closed her hand around the origami flower, crushing it in frustration. She knew she could never escape these guys, not just Hidan and Kakuzu, but the whole Akatsuki, they would just come for her again even if she ran now.

"Excuse me..." She said almost too quiet to hear. Kakuzu and Hidan both looked at her in surprise that she actually spoke on her own.

"Yes?" Hidan asked.

"What are you guys going to do to me exactly?" She asked and looked at the crumpled paper flower in her hand again.

"You will see." Kakuzu cut off Hidan before he could say anything.

Ichi looked at them. "I may be a jinchuriki, but I still deserve to know what the heck you're going to do to me. I already know you've been collecting us and killing us, but why? You can't just control the monsters inside of us, they have to be sealed inside someone and then they have to train to be able to even remotely control these things." She said and sighed. She knew she was wasting her breath but she had to at least try to get through to them, just maybe it would save her life, and maybe she could save the lives of the remaining jinchurikis.

"Just how well can you control the Matatabi?" Kakuzu asked as he stopped and turned towards her.

"Well..." She said and trailed off. She didn t want to tell them too much about her but it seemed it was too late now.

"Well what?" Hidan asked impatiently.

"I guess I should start at the beginning." Ichi said and took a deep breath. Hidan and Kakuzu both looked at each other then at her.

"I'm assuming you know my name and where I'm from already since you found me here." She said and they both nodded. "I have better control over the beast sealed inside of me than anyone else as you have already heard too." They both nodded again. "Well the reason I can control it is because basically as soon as I could walk and talk the Raikage made the choice that I should be put through extreme training to force me to be able to control the Matatabi and that went on until I was 12. I fled the village after my parents were killed on a mission and have never went back in fear that I would be captured." She said with a sigh.

"If you stopped training at 12 how can you still control it?" Kakuzu asked.

"Because I didn't necessarily stop training, I just stopped training there, I continued to push myself and make myself have to use the Matatabi's power; but more importantly than just being able to control the Matatabi, I spent the last 6 years focusing on really understanding it and communicating with it and building a bond of trust."Ichi took another deep breath. "Most of the jinchurikis, even if they can control their beasts to an extent, if they fully transform, they lose control and all reasoning, I may lose control of it, but I can reason with it and can be reasoned with when using the Matatabi." She searched their faces for a sign that they understood anything she said. Kakuzu was the first one who seemed to realize just what kind of person they had on their hands.

"So you're saying you can control that thing." Hidan said, trying to process what she said.

"Yes, in the end, the Matatabi is all I have left, so I've come to rely on it's company. Should I lose it, I will not only lose my life, but even if I could continue to live I wouldn't have anything to live for..." She trailed off.

She looked them in the eyes, hoping they could see how badly she wanted to live, and would do anything it took. She wanted them to understand she was more than just a useless human with a monster inside of her.

"I wonder we could keep her alive instead of taking the beast out of her. She seems pretty useful." Kakuzu said quietly.

Hidan gave him a strange look and just shrugged. "I guess we will find out." Hidan said and started walking again.

_  
Short explanations

1* Takigakure - Village hidden by a waterfall

2* Kumogakure- Village hidden by clouds 3*Matatabi- 2 tails, cat like creature, hence why Hidan was making cat jokes

4* Ichi is not her full name, it s shortened.

**** Okay so I had some major technical difficulties getting this posted, like having to go back and forth between 2 computers, a phone, and calling my service provider only for them to not get anything done.

Anyways, I had to type it on one computer because the other kept freezing and when I moved the file over and uploaded it, it lost ALL formatting and all the " in it so I just spent like 20 minutes going back and fixing it and if I missed any just let me know and I'll fix it, and hopefully I don't have nearly as much trouble with chapter 2... OTL Wish me luck


	2. A Twisted Fate

Chapter 2:

A Twisted Fate

Ichi tried to calm her thoughts, she knew they were coming for her one day, she knew this would happen, but she never once imagined how scary it would be. She thought losing her parents was the most pain and fear she could ever feel, but this new level of fear rising within her is making her feel as if her legs are stone and like there is a 10 ton rock on her chest making it impossible to breath.

"Hey kid, calm down and just breath." Hidan said as he slapped her back. "We haven't even done anything to you yet." He said with a laugh. "But I guess wondering what's going to happen is the worst part isn't it?" He said as he kept a hand on her shoulder.

Ichi couldn't tell if he was trying to comfort or mock her, either way she felt a little better. No one seemed hopeful that she could find a way to survive the extraction of the tailed beast, but maybe she could convince them to let her live. These guys had no morals and really nothing to lose from being in the Akatsuki, but yet here these two are - about to deliver her to her death, but they did hear her out, and told her to try pleading with their leader because they could see the value in keeping her alive, but that's going to be an uphill battle she has to fight on her own.

"Hidan is right for once, the worst thing that could happen is that you die, but really dying isn't that scary. It's just everything that leads to your death that's terrifying, but that's just life." Kakuzu said as if life and death were really just that simple. "Just don't pass out or do anything stupid until we get there, and just be prepared for the worst." He said as if we were just having a casual conversation about the weather.

Ichi clenched her fist tightly, feeling the paper flower crumple a little more under the pressure. The fear was starting to subside and be replaced with anger. She wanted to run as far away as her legs could carry her but right now they would barely carry her forward.

They walked farther into the forest, Hidan and Kakuzu knew where they were going but Ichi had never been this far out here. She's traveled a lot, but she always just stuck to the paths she knew. They came to a rock face that had a seal on it. Hidan and Kakuzu both brought their hands up in front of them to release the seal that had been placed on the rocks, the rocks tumbled away allowing them to walk into a large empty cavern. The Rocks went back into place after they entered.

"It's almost show time." Hidan said with a smirk. Kakuzu nodded in agreement.

Ichi looked around, there was nothing in here at all besides them. It was the biggest cavern she'd ever seen and you would never know it existed if you didn't have a reason to be in here. She could feel the fear creeping back into her, giving her chills and the seconds agonizingly ticked by as they waited.

Slowly one by one shadows with faces appeared in the cavern all in a circle surrounding her. She could feel their eyes boring into her, questioning why she was there, why she wasn't unconscious. She heard a voice murmuring something to another and slowly the small circle around her was alive with noise. She wanted to curl into a ball and scream at them to go away and almost did when a hand rested on her shoulder, this time it was Kakuzu. She knew he was trying to make her calm down enough to try to say something.

"What's the meaning of this Hidan, Kakuzu?" One of the shadows called.

"She's the two-tails host." Kakuzu simply said as if it was nothing.

"Why is she awake?" Another, much younger sounding voice said.

"She has a bit of a proposition, I'll let her do the talking." Kakuzu said as he stepped back from Ichi.

Ichi took a deep breath and nervously glanced around at each of the shadows, finally deciding to just look at her hands as she spoke. "I… I know you want to take the two-tails out of me." she stuttered "But, maybe I could be of more use to you alive?" She almost squeaked.

The voices around her erupted again, too many to pick out just one, she could catch bits and pieces of what they were saying, but it wasn't pleasant. Ichi felt as if she were going to be sick, she couldn't handle this alone. She didn't care much for either Kakuzu or Hidan but she wished they would step in but they stood silently just looking at her. Finally another voice erupted from the crowd and told them to be quiet and for her to elaborate.

She hesitated before speaking this time."I can control Matatabi. I can control and reason with it, I know how to deal with this beast. I don't know how you think you're going to control these monsters without having them inside people. It's impossible. You need to have them sealed within people for them to even be used without just killing all of you." She said and took another deep breath. "What I'm saying is you will have to seal them in another person, and they will need to train to be able to control it and I've already been through that kind of training."

"We know what we are doing." A voice cut her off. The shadow stepped forwards and she could see his eyes. They were white with circles in them. He was by far the most intimidating shadow there. "What makes you honestly think you could be of any use to us alive?" He asked.

She looked him in the eyes. "Because I have nothing left to lose besides my life so I'd do anything to stay alive. Even if it means helping with whatever you are going to do." She looked at each of the shadows as she spoke this time. "You need someone who knows how to handle these monsters properly, they aren't just weapons of mass destruction, they can be, but they can be used for so much more than just destroying things. If your goal was to take over the world, you shouldn't just use them to destroy everything as it seems you want to do." She was shaking at this point, she felt like she was failing miserably but she didn't stop. "Look, I can train the new people you seal them in, it will take time, but it can be done. I will help capture other jinchurikis…" She flinched as she said that. "I'll do what ever I need to do." She said and tried to hold back the urge to cry.

The shadow that questioned her stepped closer to her. "Why are you still talking. You're useless to us." He said.

"If I'm so useless then why would you hunt me down? I've spent years running and hiding, and now here I am on your door step and you're telling me I'm worth nothing unless I'm dead." She shook her head and raised her voice. "You're all idiots if you think you can control these monsters, especially if you think you can without someone who's spent their entire life learning how to control it's power." She took a step closer to the shadow. "What makes you think you're worth anything? Should you die, someone with an even more twisted dream will come along and replace you and then you will just be a pathetic memory."

Ichi took a step back to her place in the middle and just looked at all of them and tried to hold herself together. She can't let herself get that worked up, especially not here. That's exactly what they want, that want her to prove she can't control it by losing her cool and transforming right here. They want her to screw up so they can just rip the Matatabi out of her without a second thought.

"Very well." That shadow said breaking the deafening silence. "We will give you a chance, but should you prove to be lying we won't hesitate to rip your precious beast out of you." No one dared say a word as the shadow moved slowly around Ichi, as if he was sizing her up, about to fight. "You will be paired with Deidara for the time being." He said as he looked at a shadow with piercing blue eyes. "Do not hesitate to blow her into a few pieces, should she step out of line, after all, the beast inside her should lend it's power to help heal her anyways." He was looking directly at Deidara. "Hidan and Kakuzu are in the land of fire and not that far from you so decide on a rendezvous place to exchange custody of her." He said and then disappeared. Each shadow took one last look at Ichi and then vanished except for Deidara.

"So where do you want to meet, blondie?" Hidan said sounding irritated.

"We are meeting at the fire temple in 2 days, don't be late." Kakuzu said before Daidara could answer as he motioned for Hidan and Ichi that it was time to leave. Deidara just nodded and then vanished like the rest of the shadows.

"Why the fire temple?" Hidan asked sounding even more irritated.

"There's an easy bounty I want to collect." Kakuzu said as he released the seal on the entrance once again.

"Of course, greedy bastard." Hidan mumbled.

Ichi was lost in her own thoughts when Hidan yelled at her to hurry up. She ran after them and slowed her pace to match their's once she caught up. Her mind was reeling, she couldn't believe what happened in there. Her entire body was still shaking from the fear and adrenalin coursing though her. A new wave of fear swept through her as she remembered what that shadow said. Just who was this guy that she was to meet?


	3. Patience is a Virtue

Chapter 3:  
Patience is a virtue that Hidan does not have

Ichi walked along side Hidan and Kakuzu as they seemed to argue about something but she wasn't paying attention. Her mind kept going back to that morning. Just hours ago she was going to her death and yet here she is still alive. She felt like she was drowning in a sea of fear and confusion but she knew one thing. She was going to live.

Ichi slowed her pace without realizing it as they walked. Kakuzu turned back to her. "Kid, if you don't keep up we just might take you back." He said with a harsh tone.

Hidan seemed to be worried about her safety because of Kakuzu's temper. He stopped and looked at her. "Look, you're too slow, I'm just going to carry you since you obviously can't keep up." He said as he picked bent over slightly. "Just get on my back." He said sounding annoyed.

Kakuzu walked ahead shaking his head because he couldn't believe that Hidan would actually help that kid. They caught up almost immediately after Hidan started carrying Ichi. Hidan just gave Kakuzu a dirty look and continued to walk along side him. She still didn't like these two, especially Kakuzu, he made her feel so uneasy.

Ichi knew both of them were essentially immortal, she remembered hearing an older man with long white hair talking to someone about these two back at that restaurant when she was a waiter. The man was meeting with someone else who was in the same cloak they were wearing, she recognized the mans eyes in the cave but she knew better than to say anything. She wondered if he remembered seeing her there too, she wanted to find out his name and who that man with the white hair was.

She rested her head on Hidan's shoulder and just tried to process everything that had happened in the past and try to put the pieces together and prepare herself for what lies ahead. Hidan made a strange face at the feeling of her head touching him but didn't question it, he just assumed she was tired. He had been carrying her for several hours now; she was pretty light so it wasn't very difficult.

"Maybe we should rest?" Hidan said to Kakuzu and motioned his head at Ichi who now appeared to be asleep on him.

Kakuzu sighed. "Fine." He said in annoyance.

"Don't act like it's my fault this kid is tired, and I'm fucking tired of carrying her." He said as he gently put Ichi down.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Hidan." Kakuzu said and glared at him.

"Shut the hell up." Hidan huffed and sat down with his back against a tree.

Ichi sat up and rubbed her eyes, she didn't mean to fall asleep and apologized for being such a hindrance to them. They both just looked at her confused. They really were not used to someone who was so polite, seeing how they put up with each other every day.

"It's fine, just go back to sleep." Hidan said and stood up to unpack some blankets and handed one to her and rolled up the other one for her to use as a pillow. "Neither of us really need to sleep right now, so take those and try to get some rest; we've got a long way to go tomorrow."

* * *

The sun was just beginning to turn the sky a soft pink, birds were beginning to chirp, and the ground was still wet with dew when Ichi's eyes fluttered open. She slowly sat up and looked at the sleeping figure up against the tree next to her. Hidan was leaned up against the tree again and softly snoring with his head tilted back. Kakuzu was leaning on a tree a few feet away and appeared to still be asleep as well.

Ichi stood up and folded up the blankets and left them in a neat pile next to Hidan. She quietly walked until she found a small clearing in the trees and could see the sun rising. She sat down and crossed her legs, she used the rubber band on her wrist to put her shoulder blade length white hair up in a bun. She pulled the crumpled origami flower out of her pocket and unfolded it and tried to smooth out the paper as well as she could. She refolded the paper into the flower and stuck the little hair pin though the center again and fastened it at the base of her bun. Ichi tilted her head back and closed her eyes to meditate.

Meditating was how she connected with the Matatabi, she had to be relaxed and be able to focus on communicating with it. She could hear it's voice ringing in her ears, she told it what had happened, what she agreed to do when the time came. She stood before it apologizing for not fighting.

"My child, you did what you needed to survive." It said as it's tails waved back and forth slowly.

"But instead of being killed now, we have to kill others…" Ichi said as her voice cracked.

"You can't save everyone. You have to learn this." It said softly and lowered it's head closer to hers. "You managed to protect us both and I appreciate that." It said slowly. "But I know you will find a way to use this situation to protect others as well. You're a smart girl, you've proved that to me again and again. If anyone can change the fate of your fellow junchurikis it's you." The Matatabi said to Ichi and then it touched its head to hers. "Now go my child, go change the world." It said softly and then vanished.

Ichi opened her eyes to see the sun had risen higher in the sky. She heard the sound of a branch breaking near the edge of the clearing. She looked in the direction and saw that it was Hidan. She couldn't hear what he was saying because the Matatabi's voice was still playing through her head.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Hidan asked sounding annoyed. Kakuzu wasn't far behind him.

"I was meditating." She said as she stood up. "I didn't know when you guys would wake up so I just went ahead and found a nice spot where I wouldn't bother you if I made any noise." She said quietly.

Hidan looked at her and smiled. "Interesting." He said. "Do you pray to anyone?" He asked.

"No, It's just one of the ways I can communicate with the Matatabi." She said as Hidan walked closer to her.

"Really? What's the Matatabi like?" He asked.

She looked at him, she was confused by his sudden interest. "It's… Well, to me, It's very calm. It listens to me when I speak to it and I listen to it. It knows me better than any one else ever could. We've been connected since I was 6 months old." Ichi said quietly as Hidan and Kakuzu stood next to her listening. "It gives me advice, and helps me calm down and think things through. When I said these beasts were more than just monsters that destroy things, I meant it. The Matatabi has become the one thing I can trust, it protects me and I protect it. We have such a close bond."

"Lovely, now can we go?" Kakuzu asked impatiently. "We need to be there by tomorrow and at this rate we won't get anywhere if we just stand around talking."

"You just want to go collect that bounty you blasphemous bastard." Hidan said and walked past him.

Ichi just stared at Hidan, dumbfounded that he said that. She trotted to catch up to Hidan and walked next to him in silence as Kakuzu walked ahead of them. She wondered why Hidan had asked her if she prayed, that was such a strange thing to just ask someone, and then his out burst at Kakuzu had startled her.

"There's nothing wrong with loving money." Kakuzu said after a short time.

"You're so blasphemous Kakuzu, maybe if you converted you would be happier and learn that there's more to life than money." Hidan said as he took off his necklace with a pendant on it that had a circle and and upside down triangle on it.

"Just shut up already. I'm perfectly happy killing people and collecting the money, you on the other hand, never shut up about your precious god."

Hidan gently held out the necklace far enough for Ichi to get a good look at it and then turned to her. "If I didn't have my god, I wouldn't be as strong as I am. You see, I'm a Jashinist." He said as he handed the necklace to Ichi. "My god, Jashin, praises me for showing him my loyalty by killing. I pray to him before every battle and ask for a good kill, and the more pain I put my victims in, the happier I make my god." He said with a soft smile as Ichi handed back his necklace.

"Your god sounds terrifying…" She said quietly. "But I admire your devotion to him. Having something you can truly believe in and devote yourself to is something I've always wished for." She said as she looked at him.

"You're right, Jashin is terrifying, that's why I always make sure to ask for forgiveness should I fail to kill." He said as he put his necklace back on. "But if you want something to believe in maybe you would consider converting and be a Jashinist?" He asked sounding hopeful.

"I don't think I could, but I wouldn't mind hearing more about your beliefs." Ichi said quietly. She loved hearing people talk about the things they love and Hidan really seemed to love his religion.

"Just think about my offer." He said and winked. "And I'll gladly tell you more about Jashin." He said with a smile.

Kakuzu groaned loudly. "Don't get him going more than you already have." He said harshly.

"Shut the hell up you godless bastard." Hidan yelled at Kakuzu.

"Don't piss me off Hidan, I'd like to not cut your head off in front of this girl, but then again, maybe I should." Kakzuzu had stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Go ahead jack ass. You can't fucking kill me anyways." He yelled again. "Besides do you really want to waste your precious fucking time fighting me?" Hidan asked with a smirk.

"Just shut up." Kakuzu said turned around and started walking again.

They walked in silence after that outburst for several hours. Ichi did her best to keep up with them and not drift off into her own thoughts again like yesterday. She didn't know what to think of either of them, one minute they were calm and talking casually, the next they were on the verge of trying to mutilate each other, then they were silent. She couldn't tell who she should be more afraid of Hidan or Kakuzu. At least Hidan has made a point to try to get to know her a little. To Kakuzu, she's obviously just a weapon that needs to be handled carefully.

"Hidan?" Ichi asked quietly.

"What is it kid?" He asked as he tilted his head towards her.

"Just who is this guy that you are handing me over to?" She asked.

Hidan groaned loudly. "He's a fucking freak. I can't believe Pain fucking put you in that guys custody. He's reckless, the only thing he's done right is bring in the Shukaku. He just took off and decided to play around instead of fighting with Sasori so he fucking got killed. Damn idiot." He said gritting his teeth as he spoke. "I may be reckless, but at least I can't die easily, or go on suicide missions like that idiot. It's like Pain wanted you to get killed with that fucking Idiot." He took a deep breath and clenched his fist.

"And he's just a kid, like you." Kakuzu said and looked at Ichi. "Seriously, just watch your back when you're with him. He's so absorbed in his "art" that he puts it first, even before his own life." He said and sighed. "That idiot has already lost both of his arms once, and when he loses his arms all he has left is to blow himself up, so be careful." He said and stopped walking.

Ichi looked at the both of them, she had a terrible feeling in her stomach about this guy. If he was as bad as they say she was really going to have to watch herself. She couldn't risk being dragged down with that guy.  
"I don't even understand how that kid isn't dead yet, he's practically worthless, and a ticking time bomb, literally." Hidan spat. "He's going to get you killed."

"Why do you care so much Hidan? Do you have a crush on this kid or something?" Kakuzu teased.

"Of course not you fucking idiot." He yelled at Kakuzu. "I just don't want that idiot to get her killed, because unlike him, she actually is useful." He huffed.

Ichi just shook her head and stared up at the moon that was starting to become more visible as the sun set. She could see that it was going to be a full moon tonight. They started walking again until Kakuzu stopped again. "We will rest here for the night." He said and sat down against a tree.

Hidan dug the blankets out of their bags again and gave them to Ichi to use, she thanked him and found a soft spot on the ground and laid one of them out for her to sleep on and used the other as a pillow again. She drifted to sleep quickly.

Ichi heard a voice in her sleep that she knew, it was the Matatabi. She looked around to see she was standing in front of it again. "What's wrong?" She asked it. It never came to her in her dreams unless it felt something bad coming.

"This new partner you're getting." It said and lowered it head to look her in the eyes. "He's going to die." The blue flaming cat creature said. Ichi's eyes widened.

"How... How can you be so sure? We haven't even met him yet." She stuttered in shock.

"Have I ever been wrong?" It asked.

"Well, no, but how? I mean, well, I know you can sense these things, but there's no way you could know already…" She seemed to trip over each word, trying to wrap her head around what it said.

"My child, this is one you cannot save, he is strong, but he shall fall. Don't go down with him." It said and touched it's head to hers like before and then vanished.

Ichi jolted awake and sat up. Kakuzu and Hidan were still awake and looked at her strange. She was sweating and breathing hard. The Matatabi was never wrong when it told her things in her sleep. She rested her head in her hands and tried to calm down. She didn't even know this guy yet and she was already on the brink of tears. She hated the thought of having to travel with him and having to watch him die. The Matatabi told her she couldn't save him but she couldn't just stand by and do nothing, she would try.

"What's wrong kid?" Hidan asked and put a hand on her back to comfort her.

"Nothing." She choked out. "I just had a bad nightmare, it happens a lot, I'm fine." She said and tried to pull herself together.

"If you say so." He said and leaned back against the tree and continued his talk with Kakuzu.

Ichi laid back down and tried to fall asleep again but the Matatabi's words still rang in her ears loud and clear. She could hear Hidan and Kakuzu talking in hushed voices about what's going to happen next. She just listened to them and tried to take her mind off of things. She eventually drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Kakuzu leaned over Ichi and shook her to wake her up. She jerked and nearly hit him. "Oh shit, I'm so sorry!" She said as she apologized over and over again for taking a swing at him. "I guess you didn't know to not wake me up, it's a reflex to take a swing at anything that touches me in my sleep…" She said and scratches the back of her head nervously.

"It's fine. Just get up, we're leaving." He said as he started waking away. Hidan just laughed.

Ichi tried to comb her tangled hair with her fingers and gave up and put it into a low pony-tail and put the paper flower in her hair and pinned her bangs out of her face. She packed up the blankets and thanked Hidan again for letting her use them. He just nodded and they walked along side each other.

They walked slowly along the path, in no hurry since they were already almost at the fire temple. Kakuzu looked at Hidan and they both nodded. Hidan slowed his pace and grabbed the side of Ichi's shirt to get her to stay with him while Kakuzu took off to go on ahead. Ichi stopped and looked at Hidan, confused as to what was going on.

He tilted his head and smiled. "Don't worry kid, he's going ahead to take care of some business that he didn't think you'd want to be apart of." He said with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah…" She said remembering. "He wanted to collect that bounty…" She said looking at her feet.

"Hey, chin up, you won't have to deal with us after today, so that's something to look forward to." He said with a smirk.

"You guys aren't that bad." She said and smiled. "You're actually pretty entertaining." She laughed.

"I bet." He chuckled.

They continued walking slowly, just taking their time to let Kakuzu get what he wanted to do done. Ichi was genuinely going to miss these guys, they were strange and terrifying, but they gave her a chance. They gave her a new life, not that she asked for this, but at least she wasn't running and hiding anymore. She didn't want to have to kill anyone, but she knew her terms of survival. Ichi watched Hidan out of the corner of her eye, he seemed extremely calm. Usually he seemed to be aggravated by something, or wanted to fight, but he was genuinely calm right now. He had a soft smile on his face instead of his usual smirk and didn't even raise his voice like he usually does.

"I hate that I had to miss that fight with the monk, but I'll get to fight again soon enough." He said to Ichi. She looked at the ground and just stayed silent. "I get it, you don't like fighting, obviously, but that's really going to have to change kid…" He said and patted her back.

"I know…" She said quietly.

"It's really only going to get worse from here, we've gone out of our way to let you avoid fighting, but when you leave with Deidara you're going to have to fight." He said as they walked to the front of the temple. "We've already warned you about him, so just watch out."

Ichi nodded. "Thank you." She said quietly.

"Just don't let that idiot get you killed." He said with a small laugh.

"Trust me, I won't." She said and smiled. "I'll take him out myself if I have to." She smiled and Hidan Laughed. He seemed to like the idea of her getting rid of him.

Kakuzu walked out of the temple with the lifeless corpse of the monk draped over his shoulder. "So where's Deidara? We need to get going." he said and looked around.

"Blondie is taking his sweet time apparently." Hidan said sounding annoyed once again.

They stood there waiting, the minutes ticking by slowly. Hidan and Kakuzu's complaining grew more and more with each second. Ichi just sat down on the ground in between them and pulled her knees to her chest. She wondered if Deidara was really going to be as bad as everyone said. The fear was already coming back. She tried to keep calm as they waited. Several minutes later she could see a figure who appeared to be wearing the same cloak and a straw hat in the distance coming their direction.

"About fucking time." Hidan mumbled angrily.

"Could he walk any slower?" Kakuzu asked sarcastically.

The man finally got close enough to them to be able to see his face. He had bright blue eyes, just as Ichi remembered from when she saw him as a shadow. His blonde hair covered one eye, he took his straw hat off to reveal his entire head.

"Thanks for finally fucking showing up." Hidan said and glared at the young man.

"I ran into a little trouble, but it's fine, thanks for asking. Hm." Deidara replied.

Ichi stood up and dusted herself off. She looked at Deidara and tried to smile. She felt Hidan put his hand on her back again. She knew this was where they finally had to part.

"Let's go Hidan. We're done here." Kakuzu said sounding thoroughly annoyed.

Hidan nodded and let his hand slide off of Ichi's back slowly as he stepped away from her. He turned and smirked. "Take care of yourself kid, I want to see that power one day, so don't go and get yourself killed." He said as he turned and raised a hand to wave goodbye. Ichi nodded and smiled in return.


	4. Chapter 4: A New Friend?

Chapter 4:

A New Friend?

Ichi watched as Kakuzu and Hidan left, leaving her with Deidara. She finally turned to him and tried to smile and wave. He just stared at her as if he was trying to figure out what to do with her. He finally held out his hand for her to shake it. "Well, hello I guess." He said.

"Um, hi…" She said as she gently shook it. She felt something strange touching the palm of her hand. It was wet and moving, her eyes widened in surprise and she jerked her hand back.

Deidara laughed and held up his hands for her to see the mouths on his palms. "I get every one with that, don't feel too bad." He said with another laugh. "Anyways, I'm sure you already know my name is Deidara." He said and put his hat back on.

"Yeah, and you probably already know I go by Ichi." She said to him.

"Are you hungry, Ichi?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah actually, since I've been with Hidan and Kakuzu food has been pretty thin…" She said as her stomach growled as if on queue and she laughed nervously.

"I bet, those zombie freaks don't function like normal humans. I'm surprised they didn't decide to kill you just for the hell of it." He said and looked at her. "But you're safe now, so let's go get something to eat." He said and smiled.

Deidara motioned for her to come with him, they walked until they found a small restaurant. He took off his hat as he walked through the door and took off his Akatsuki cloak and draped it over the back of his chair. Ichi looked over him, he really was just a kid. He couldn't be much older than her. He looked at her and motioned for her to sit. A peppy waitress with long black hair took their order and came back several minutes later with two steaming bowls of ramen.

"So tell me something, Ichi." He said as he slowly ate some of the noodles. "How did you manage to stay out of sight for six years? Hm."

"Well…" She trailed off as she almost choked on a piece of carrot and started coughing.

"Whoa, are you okay?" He asked looking concerned.

She nodded and cleared her throat. "Yeah, just forgot to chew my food I guess." She said with a laugh. "Anyways, as I was about to say, I fled in the middle of the night to make sure no one saw me, and then moved villages every six months or so until I found a nice job in a little restaurant, much like this one." She said and ate some more noodles, making sure to not try inhaling a carrot again.

He nodded and looked at her. "And you shortened your name too, if I remember from your file correctly. Hm." He said.

"Yeah, I didn't change it much, but maybe I should have…" She said and looked at her food.

"Hey, at least you're still alive and that was one hell of a speech you gave the other day." He said and smiled. "I still can't believe it worked."

"Honestly neither can I… It felt like I was just wasting my breath but I guess not." Ichi said and finished off the last bit of her ramen. "Hey, Deidara?"

"Hm?" He looked up from his food at her.

"What did that guy mean when he told you to blow me up?" She said nervously.

He finished the last of his ramen and smiled a big smile. "I'm so glad you asked. Hm." He stood up from his chair and put his cloak and hat back on. "Remember earlier when I freaked you out with my hand?"

Ichi nodded. "Yeah."

"I make art." He said with a smile. "But it's not your everyday art, the beauty of it, is that it lasts for just a moment." He said and closed his eyes. "Then… Bang!" He yelled. "It's gone in a beautiful explosion."

Ichi and Deidara left the restaurant in search of a place to stay for the night. They were both so tired of sleeping on the ground outside that they wanted to sleep on something soft for at least one night. Ichi looked around to see they were in a tiny village, there wasn't much here, just that restaurant, a grocery store, a bath house, and what appeared to be an inn, all nestled in a small area and several small houses near by. She remembered passing by other houses on the way into this little village but they looked empty.

They stopped in front of the inn and decided they would go check it out in a little while. They both still seemed to have things they wanted to ask each other. They found a small bench under a tree on the side of the path. Deidara was the first to sit down and stretch his arms out across the back of it. Ichi sat down next to him and crossed her feet.

"So how terrible was it getting stuck with those zombie freaks? Hm." He asked.

"Well, Hidan wasn't that bad, he could actually be pretty nice if you don't get on his nerves… But Kakuzu… It's hard to decide if he's scarier when he's angry or calm…" He said and shivered at the thought of Kakuzu and Hidan yelling at each other again.

"Hmmm…" Deidara said and put his hand on his chin. "So you're saying that Hidan, the most rude, obnoxious, and meanest person I've ever met actually does have a soft side." He chuckled.

"I guess." She laughed. Hidan didn't seem that bad to her, but she understood why someone would think that. "Okay, time for me to ask a question now." She said and turned her head slightly to make eye contact with him.

"Shoot." He said and sat up a little straighter.

"What exactly am I supposed to do now?" She asked and brushed a little bit of hair out of her face.

"What do you mean exactly?" He asked tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Well, I mean, I know I told them I'd do anything I was told to do, but am I just supposed to tag along with you for now or am I actually supposed to do something."

"I got you, okay. Hm." He said and looked at her. "Your job is to capture the 8-tails junchuriki." He said and stretched back out draping his arms over behind the bench.

"Wait, what?" She said, astonished that they would give her something so big to do.

"Well, Pain's idea was that you should prove your worth to the Akatsuki by bringing in a jinchuriki. Hm" Daidara said and tilted his head back. "It's not as hard as it sounds, but it can be tricky. I'm not really supposed to help you that much, I'm more or less your baby sitter." He said with a laugh.

"The jinchuriki… The 8-tails is in possession of the village Kumogakure…" She said quietly, trying desperately to remember if she met them. She couldn't bare the idea of attacking someone she once called a friend.

"Hey, look at you, you've done your research." Deidara said with a laugh. "But you're right, and if I remember correctly, that's your home village. Hm" He tilted his head back up and looked at her. "I'm pretty sure that's why he picked it actually. Pain wanted you to prove your loyalty by making you attack your former home." He said and sighed. "It doesn't have to be done immediately but it does need to happen soon, so tomorrow we can set off heading that way and just take our time. Hm." He says.

"Alright." Ichi nodded her head and looked down at the ground.

They got up from the bench and walked back to the inn. They decided to just share a room to cut the cost. Deidara walked behind the man leading them to their room. After he unlocked the door for them he winked and told them to have a nice night. Deidara shot him a dirty look and held the door open for Ichi to go in first.

Ichi opened the closet that held the extra blankets and pillows and pulled out a couple of pillows. She missed having as many pillows as she could get her hands on like she did before all this started, but this was nice. "Hey, Deidara?" She asked quietly.

"Hmm?" He said as he sat down on one of the two beds and took off his hat.

"Don't you have any missions or something else that we could do before we go to Kumogakure?" She asked. She wanted to do anything besides return to her home.

"Not really, I've already met my quota…" He said as he stood back up and took off his cloak.

"Oh…" She said quietly.

"Hey, I had a job to do, I just followed orders. Hm." He said, it came out harsher sounding than he had meant it to. "I'm sorry." He said as he took off his shirt.

"It's alright, like you said, you followed orders, like I'm going to have to…" She said as she took off the long sleeve shirt she had on over her tank top.

"If it makes you feel any better, that host isn't dead, well not anymore. Hm." He said and looked at her.

"What… What do you mean?" She asked confused by what he said.

"Well, he didn't survive the beast extraction as expected, but one of the elders of the sand village used a forbidden justsu, which took her own life in the process, but gave him another chance at life. Hm." He explained. "I don't know exactly how that worked, my former partner would know more about the justsu she used since he was her grandson, but he obviously wasn't strong enough to fight his granny and some little girl." He said sounding annoyed.

She remembered what Hidan and Kakuzu said about his former partner. She didn't think he was as reckless as they made him out to be, it sounded like they split up thinking they could take their opponents on their own but things went wrong. Ichi took the skirt she wore over her shorts off and climbed into the bed. She looked over to see Deidara sitting on his bed just wearing his pants now. He looked so young, it was weird to think that he could have committed the crimes that earned him his spot in the Akatsuki… She noticed a large set of stitches across one side of his chest, and on his left arm close to his shoulder, and around his right elbow where the skin was a different color.

Ichi laid her head down to go to sleep and pulled the blankets up around her. She drifted to sleep pretty fast. It wasn't a normal dream, she was in front of the Matatabi again. The large flaming blue cat looked at her and made a strange sound. "You're still trying to think of a way to save him." It said quietly.

"Well, yes, but I don't even know what's going to happen yet." Ichi said with a sigh.

"Don't let yourself get attached to him unless you want to perish along side him." It said harshly.

"I will not die." She said and glared at the Matatabi. "And I will do everything I can to keep him alive."

"You're being foolish my child, you have to let this one go." It said shaking it's large head.

"No. I won't. You told me I would find a way to use this situation to save other's, and I want to save him." She said and stomped her foot.

"You can't this time. I can tell you already care about him, he's turned out to not be as terrible as those men made him out to be, but don't let your heart make the decisions here, my child." It said and lowered it's head.

"Why do they have to be separate? Why can't I decide with both?" She asked.

"The decisions of the heart are usually irrational. You've always been better at thinking with your head, dear, remember that." It said and looked into Ichi's eyes.

"I'll still do anything I can to help him, but should things get out of hand I will run." She said with a sigh. She didn't want to argue with the Matatabi anymore, she just wanted it to let her sleep but it seemed that was out of the question.

Ichi jolted awake and sat up. Once again covered in sweat and breathing hard. She really didn't need to be reprimanded by the Matatabi right now, but it seemed to think it was necessary. Deidara looked at her strangly, he hadn't gone to sleep yet and was still sitting on his bed just looking out the window. "You alright?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She said still out of breath.

She laid her head back down and tried to go to sleep once again. Her mind drifted to Hidan and Kakuzu, she saw them bickering in her dream. They were fine, then Deidara appeared in front of her. He held out his hand - she reached for it. Then she notice that blood was dripping from the mouth on his palm, she looked at his face to see that blood was pouring from his mouth. She backed away and he took a step towards her, she took another step back and bumped into Kakuzu who somehow got behind her. He too had blood coming out of his mouth, and the skin was peeling away from his face. He grabbed Ichi's arms so tight she felt like he was going to shatter the bones. Hidan appeared in front of her next to Deidara, he had his scythe in hand and a twisted smile on his face.

"Don't worry kid, this will only hurt for a second." He yelled in her dream as he swung the scythe and pierced her stomach. Ichi screamed in agony as blood began to soak the front of her.

Deidara stepped forward and used his hand to lick her face, it ran it's tongue over her cheek and then bit the flesh and ripped a piece off. "Sorry Ichi, but this is just too much fun. Hm." He said and then grabbed her by her chin and pulled her face close to his. "You're going to let me die, so I'm going to make you feel my pain." He said with a sick laugh and then kissed her bloody cheek.

Kakuzu released his grip on one of her arms only to move his hand to pull her hair. She felt as if he was ripping it out of her scalp. He moved his other hand to wrap around her neck and began choking her. Hidan pulled his scythe out of her and swung it again, this time aiming higher.

"Ichi! Ichi, wake up!" Deidara yelled and shook her. "Ichi, it's just a dream!" He said as he shook her harder. She bolted straight up and was panting. He held her in his arms and brushed the hair out of her face. "You've been screaming for almost twenty minutes now…" He said looking extremely concerned. "Just what the hell was happening to you in that dream?"

Ichi just shook her head and tried to calm down. It felt so real, she could still feel the bite on her face and Kakuzu's hands crushing her arms. It was impossible to breath as if Hidan had really punctured one of her lungs with his scythe. She rested her head on Deidara's shoulder and just tried to breath. He ran his fingers through her hair and gently stroked her head to try to calm her down.

"It's okay now, whatever happened in your dream won't happen now. You're safe." He said quietly. She just nodded and tried to pull herself together.

She leaned away from him and wiped her face. She looked into his crystal blue eyes and tried to smile. Her mind flashed back to the twisted smile he gave her in the dream but came back to reality when she heard his voice and saw he was genuinely worried.

"This is the second time tonight you've woke up like this, are you sure you're going to be okay?" He asked and touched a hand to her face. She almost jerked away but made her self sit still. Her body was tense but she relaxed when she saw him smile softly. "I'll sit here with you as long as I have to, Ichi. Just try to calm down, we've got a long way to go before we have to face the jinchuriki, and we can't have you being tired and week." He said trying to sound less concerned.

"I'll be fine this time." She nodded. "Really." She tried to sound like she was sure, but she doubted this would be the end of it tonight. She just didn't want to keep bothering him.

"If you say so. Hm." He said as he touched her shoulder then went back to his own bed.

Ichi laid her head back down again and tried to forget the images from moments ago. She didn't know how long she had been asleep when she seemed to be floating in a sea of black. She could hear voices, they were the voices from the day she was supposed to die. Each belonged to a member of the Akatsuki, she could recognize three of them with no problem now. They were talking about her, she felt strange, as if they were watching her but she couldn't see anything around her. Then she felt a searing pain from her stomach; A blade was cutting her open, it dug deep and went from one side to the other. She wanted to scream but she couldn't make a sound, every time she tried to speak it was like a hand was choking her.

Instead of blood pouring out of her open wound she saw the Matatabi being pulled out by a hand. Her blood dripped off if it as it was pulled out of her. It opened it's eyes and looked at her. "How could you let this happen?" It said right before a blade sliced it's neck open and it's blood poured out. She watched the life drain from it's eyes. She kept trying to scream, to fight, but she felt like she was being restrained. She couldn't move, she just had to watch as another blade started stabbing her over and over again. She could feel each wound, it felt like her entire body was on fire and in pain.

Ichi jerked awake again to find Deidara sitting on her bed next to her again. He hadn't tried to wake her up this time because she wasn't screaming but she had been sobbing in her sleep. He gently ran his hand over the top of her head, then wiped away some of the tears. "Ichi, how often does this happen?" He asked her quietly.

She shook her head. "Pretty often." She barely managed to choke out before she started sobbing again.

He sighed and gently rubbed her head as she cried. She eventually stopped crying and fell asleep with him still rubbing her head. He didn't want to wake her up so he just sat there and continued rubbing her head until he fell asleep next to her.

* * *

Deidara woke up and looked over to see Ichi facing the opposite direction sound asleep. He sighed and smiled, relieved that she finally managed to sleep. He let her sleep through the morning while he watched out the window and sleep through most of the afternoon. He knew she would be out for quite a while after the night she had so he went back to the restaurant and got some carry-out ramen. He brought it back to their room and waited for her to wake up before he ate.

It was almost evening when she finally woke up. Ichi sat up and looked around, she saw that Deidara had dozed off. She got out of the bed and walked over to him and gently shook his shoulder. He jumped and fell out of the chair he was in. "I'm sorry!" Ichi said as she held out a hand to help him up.

"It's alright." He said and laughed. "I got you some food by the way, I figured you would be pretty hungry since you slept for so long." He said motioning to the bag on the table in the room as he stood up.

"Thank you." She said with a smile. She walked over to the bag and opened it to see there were two things in there. "You waited to eat until I woke up?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, I wasn't that hungry so it wasn't a problem. Hm" He said as he pulled out the chair and sat down. "By the way, I over heard some interesting information that would give us something to do before we go after that jinchuriki." He said as he opened the container of ramen.

Ichi looked at him and tilted her head to the side. "Really? Well what was it?" She asked.

"It seems some of my old "friends" are looking for Itachi and is kid brother Sasuke. Hm." He said and took a bite of the noodles.

"And? Out with it." She said and laughed.

"Well, I have a little grudge against both of them, and I can't do anything to Itachi at the moment, I just have to put up with him for now." He said with his mouth full. "But, I can go after his brother." He said with a smirk.

"What did his brother do to you?" She asked.

"Well, I wanted to kill Orochimaru, but he already did that… So I'd like to fight him." He said as he took another bite.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked, she got a bad feeling about what he said.

"Would you rather go straight for the jinchuriki?" He retorted.

"Well… No… But this could go really bad…" She said quietly.

"Don't worry, if it does we will just tuck our tails and run." He said with a laugh as if it was a joke.

Ichi sighed and looked out the window to see it was already getting dark. She felt like she could sleep for a hundred years and still be tired, her nightmares always made her feel this way. At least Deidara seemed to be pretty understanding, she had a feeling that Hidan and Kakuzu would have gotten pretty sick of her pretty fast…

She stood up and walked back over to sit on her bed. "I know we were going to take off tonight but since I apparently slept for the entire day maybe we should just stay here another night and go find that kid in the morning?" She asked.

Deidara nodded. "That's fine, I'm sure you could use the sleep honestly. Hm." He said as he walked over to his bed and began to take off his shirts.

Ichi climbed underneath the covers and passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Deidara watched her sleep for a short time before he went to sleep himself. He wanted to make sure she was actually going to sleep for a little while before he tried to sleep. He didn't want her having anymore nightmares but he didn't know how to stop them.

* * *

Ichi woke up first, she could hear birds chirping outside and see the sun was beginning to rise. She got out of bed and put her white over-shirt back on, the sleeves were wrinkled from where it had sat on the floor for a while. She tried to smooth them out a bit but gave up and just tried to make sure there weren't any stains on it. She put the skirt on over her shorts again and slipped her sandals on. She moved over to Deidara's bed and gently shook his shoulder to wake him up.

He got out of the bed and put on the shirts he left on the floor next to his bed. He put on the Akatsuki cloak and his straw hat. They left the inn without saying a word. Ichi followed him in silence for a while. He waited until they were out of the small village to use his clay to make 2 flying bird like sculptures. "Get on." He instructed and motioned to the one next to her.

She climbed onto it's back and held on tight as they lifted into the air. She had never seen this before but she was amazed that he could create such things. They were beautiful but yet terrifying to her because she realized they were explosives as well. She looked at the ground far below them wondering how he knew where to go. She looked over at him and saw his hand up next to his left eye and realized he had a scope on it and was taking pictures and zooming in to see everything he needed to see. He seemed to be zeroing in on a certain area. He made the clay birds swoop lower and he crouched down.

Ichi watched in amazement as he stuck his hands into his side pouches and used his hands to chew up the clay and lace it with chakra. After a moment they spit it out and he had a large amount of tiny bugs made out of clay. He swooped lower with his clay bird and flew between some trees and scattered the bugs. He had Ichi too high up to see what was going on, or see if he had found Sasuke, but she assumed he had.

His clay bird came back up several seconds later and they flew higher to dodge the explosion of the bugs. She realized that he had found Sasuke when she saw him jump out into the clearing near by to escape the explosion. Deidara smirked and brought his bird low enough to the ground to jump off and had Ichi's stay a little higher as she sat on it and watched him closely.

"Well it's nice to finally meet you kid. Hm." He said with a smirk as he looked Sasuke over.

Sasuke brushed the dirt off of himself and looked at Deidara. "What the hell do you want?" He asked and crossed his arms.

"Well, I'd really like to kill you since you killed the person I wanted to kill." He said and laughed.

Sasuke looked at him and activated his sharingan. "You guys should really find better ways to pass your time." He said sounding extremely annoyed.

Ichi watched as Deidara put his hands back in his side pouches and allowed his hands to chew up more clay. He smirked and then jumped back onto the clay bird. "Let's see if you can fight as well as your brother. Hm." He said and laughed again. He knew that would get under Sasuke's skin.

The clay birds lifted them higher to circle around the area. Ichi's bird was always higher than Deidara's as if he was trying to keep her out of the battle. This was his fight, not hers, but she couldn't let him do this alone.


End file.
